September 24, 2007

Dip Stick

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is considering a major tax hike on the rich to shore up the nation's Social Security system.

"If we kept the payroll tax rate exactly the same but applied it to all earnings and not just the first $97,000," Obama wrote this week in an Iowa newspaper, "we could eliminate the entire Social Security shortfall."

Obama's idea, which he described on the op-ed page of Friday's Quad City Times as being "one possible option" and not a formal plan, would raise more than $1 trillion over 10 years by subjecting income of more than $97,000 to a 12.4 percent tax. Half of the tax would be paid by employees and half would be paid by employers.

Obama is floating the idea of a tax hike on the rich as a way of assuring lower- and middle-income voters that he sees an option for ensuring Social Security's solvency that would not burden them. Obama has been indirectly criticized by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for suggesting on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that a higher retirement age should be "on the table."

Well, let's take a look at why this isn't such a great idea:

Increasing the amount of income to be 'taxable' in the name of Social Security from $97,000 to whatever is basically increasing the taxes on 'the rich' and it's unfair.

Why unfair? How about this simple chain of thoughts: if you make more than $97,000 on average, then you're probably squirreling away some of it to retire on; seriously, you're sure not going to rely on SS to live on.

The Congress - both Democrats and Republicans - managed to piss away the 'Social Security Lock Box' which was meant to stabilize the SS problem once.....what's to say that it won't happen again? Besides....increasing the amount of monies being brought into the treasury will only tempt some in Congress to piss it away all that much faster.

It's basically another 'tax the rich to feed the poor' type plans. Does Obama really think that -- wait....yeah, he does; he's gunning for the poor Dems that salivate at the notion of increasing taxes on the rich since it will solve all of the world's problems.

And there's one thing that I believe Obama didn't consider when he was looking over his speech notes right before opening his mouth: Walter Mondale tried that 'hard truth' back in 1984 when he told everyone that he would increase taxes and not lie to the American people about it....and he barely managed to get HALF of his own home state (Minnesota, I believe) in electoral votes while President Reagan just completely stomped his butt in the election.

Senator Obama might want to review a little history before he tosses out any more of these 'great ideas'....

September 21, 2007

Burn Baby, BURN! Part Deux

A Tacoma man who falsely claimed he was a decorated war hero when he took the stage at demonstrations held in opposition to the U.S.'s role in Iraq was sentenced this morning to five months in prison in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Jesse MacBeth, 23, was also sentenced to three months in a halfway house after his release and three years of probation.

MacBeth claimed that he was an Army ranger who killed more than 200 people, many at close range, including some as they prayed in a mosque. He spoke at an anti-war rally in Tacoma and appeared in a 20-minute anti-war video that circulated widely on the Internet.

In reality, MacBeth made it through only six weeks of Army basic training and never set foot in Iraq.

Conservative bloggers exposed MacBeth in May 2006, destroying his credibility and embarrassing the Seattle company that produced the video about his exploits.

On June 7, MacBeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. MacBeth admitted that he filed a bogus claim for VA benefits in 2005, which included a fraudulent military-discharge form.

MacBeth said on the forms that he had been in the Army for more than three years and had achieved the rank of corporal. He also claimed he had been awarded a Purple Heart and that he was discharged because he suffered from post-traumatic-stress disorder.As I said last May: good luck in trying to impress your cell mates with false bravado....just before you're traded for a pack of smokes.

September 20, 2007

Returning Fire

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a measure condemning MoveOn.org for a newspaper ad it ran last week attacking Gen. David Petraeus. The move came as President Bush accused Democrats of cowering to the liberal political action group.

The measure passed in a 72-25 vote, with none of the Democratic presidential candidates supporting it. Sponsored by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, never one to shy away from forcing Democrats to go on record on politically sticky issues, the amendment to the defense authorization bill did win the backing of 23 Democrats.

Sens. Joe Biden and Barack Obama were absent from the vote, though Obama had voted 20 minutes earlier on a Democratic effort to circumvent the amendment. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd voted against the measure.

The amendment did not specifically name MoveOn.org, but expressed "the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, commanding general, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn(s) personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces."

They passed a resolution condemning MoveOn.org and it has one purpose: to intimidate all of us who care about responsibility ending this war. They wanted to send a message that anyone who speaks unpleasant truths about this war will pay. Can you sign on to this statement?

Hmmm....I initially missed that intimidation part.

Yes, indeed - a non-binding resolution is INTIMIDATING, isn't it?

And only those opposed to MoveOn.org would use intimidation to 'get back', wouldn't they:

(from further on in the news article above)
In response, MoveOn officials said the group was going to buy TV ad time to attack McConnell, R-Ky., and other senators who voted against a measure offered a day earlier by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb to require troops to have equal down time at home as they have deployed in war zones. The measure failed.

I decided to send these folks a little message for all the good it will do:

Hey MoveOn.org,

Just saw that the Senate voted to condemn you folks for that wonderful full-page ad you bought in the New York Times.

I also saw that you're pissed off about it and are trying to not only get members to sign a petition to the Senate saying you're pissed, but immediately after that sign-up screen is done, you're immediately pan-handling for donations.

Are you guys serious?

You're free to do what you want with the money that you receive, but it's hysterical that you'd spend $65,000 for a character attack ad in the NYT and then start asking for donations.

I'm sorry, but if you want to attack people and their characters for simply doing their job(s), then you deserve all of the negative publicity that the attack garners.

Sure - I do not agree with you politically, but 'shooting the messenger' as you did last week is IMHO not only stupid, but mean-spirited also and IMHO you deserve to be condemned.

Sincerely,

Mad Mikey
http://madmikey.mu.nu

You too can send them a message with your thoughts - their feedback page can be found here.

It's fun to see that when 'counter-battery fire' is thrown back at them that the pussies of MoveOn will whine like little girls.....and then ask for a donation.

UPDATE: Uh-oh.....now one of the ass-hatted clowns over at The Daily Kos is chiming in about the Senate vote:

The Democrats just passed a Republican resolution condemning the MoveOn ad that called General Petraeus a biased figurehead 72-25.

Do the Democrats even know who votes for them anymore? Don’t they understand that if they continue to piss off the die-hard Democrats, the MoveOn Democrats, they are going to continue to lose elections?

The Republicans have won for 20 years by rallying and paying off their base. The Democrats absolutely refuse to do the same. Small wonder they haven’t won big in a while.

I’m a MoveOn Democrat. I approved that message. And it’s becoming clear that the Democrats in Congress don’t speak for me. Let the primary challenges roll.

I'm thinking that the 'question' that needs to be asked is "Does this clown really think that the kooks at Kos really have a major stake in the upcoming election?"....

Oh well....let this kook live in his/her dream world where the Democrats win an election and start making those 'needed changes' immediately....and then wake up to realize they're actually a bio-electrical battery for machines of the future.

Comments on And Some People Wonder...

September 15, 2007

Silent but Deadly

When Army scouts in Iraq spotted two men planting a roadside bomb Sept. 1, they called in a nearby Hunter unmanned aircraft, which dropped a laser-guided bomb and killed the two men.

“We had the first confirmed use of an Army weaponized UAV,” said Col. Don Hazelwood, project manager for Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

The Army is mounting precision-guided weapons on hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hazelwood said.

The MQ-5B Hunter will carry the laser-guided GBU-44/B Viper Strike, a 42-pound glide bomb with a one-yard wingspan that can strike within one meter of its aim point.

This is some awesome stuff! This little ol UAV is flying high - silent as a mouse (from the ground's perspective) and it's able to announce it's presence with a laser-guided bomb.

Boo-FREAKIN-Yah!!!

I know....I know - the phrase 'boo-yah' is a Navy thing that only a squid would say and this is an Army operation, but still......it's freakin awesome!! I'm hoping that there is some video from this strike that will become available soon.

September 14, 2007

Come Together?

Unbelieveable. Simply unbelieveable.

On the 6th anniversary of the attack of 9/11, the College Democrats and College Republicans up at San Francisco State University put politics aside and tried to come together to commemorate the day. It's events like this that honestly give me hope for Americans and their ability to overcome differences to get to the heart of something. It would have been something to see - especially up in San Francisco.

But it didn't happen. Why? Because there's always someone or a group of someone's that will come along and take a whiz in the party punchbowl.

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I can't believe that. Those "Nazis" live here and suck on the Federeal teat. "The problem is here!!" they rant while living in America. If they want to really make a statement to prove the fire in their bellies, they should suck it up and move to Iraq, Afghanistan... Also, the "problem" is not in San Francisco. If there is a problem, it's in D.C. Ah well... San Francisco has always been a hotbed of "subversive" rhetoric.

Now, I am all for their right to say and even do what they were saying and doing, but didn't their mothers teach them about the right place and the right time...?

but didn't their mothers teach them about the right place and the right time...?

I seriously doubt it. Besides, if you were able to point this little nugget of good manners out to them, they'd simply turn it around, give it a twist, and shove it back into your face (ahem....kind of like a chick would do).....

September 06, 2007

Luke Skywalker's Father!?

Congressional Democrats are trying to undermine U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus' credibility before he delivers a report on the Iraq war next week, saying the general is a mouthpiece for President Bush and his findings can't be trusted.

"The Bush report?" Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin said when asked about the upcoming report from Gen. Petraeus, U.S. commander in Iraq.

"We know what is going to be in it. It's clear. I think the president's trip over to Iraq makes it very obvious," the Illinois Democrat said. "I expect the Bush report to say, 'The surge is working. Let's have more of the same.' "

The top Democrats — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California — also referred to the general's briefing as the "Bush report."

This type of 'group-think' politics is simply mind boggling. The Dems can't even wait for the report to be issued before whining about how it. I mean seriously....if Petraeus made the report out to be a complete disaster for President Bush, i.e., the 'surge' was bad, it didn't work, it's all a complete mess - then these same Democratic balkers would be defending the report and putting Petraeus upon a pedestal.

But the one thing to consider is who's blazing the trail to the media to whine about this all: Dick Durbin. Durbin is a complete tool and while you cannot see the strings controlling him, you know that they're leading right back to Nancy Pelosi....kind of like standing outside the theater and shouting out that Darth Vader is really Luke's father as people stand in line to see 'The Empire Strikes Back'

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About Me

Mikey is a forty-something U.S. Navy veteran that is currently
taking a break from being a full-time student at UC San Diego
studying electrical engineering.

He's also a husband, a father, a former Independent/Democrat and is
currently dealing with dialysis and getting on the national
kidney transplant list.

The words written here are his opinions and his observations
on the stupid things in life. If you do not like them or do not
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